2020 Presenters

Joseph Peeples

Joseph Peeples became a Temple Square Organist in July 2019, making him the newest staff organist on Temple Square. He previously served as University Organist at California Lutheran University in his hometown of Thousand Oaks, California, and Organist at First United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara. He has completed doctoral coursework in organ performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and received a Master of Music in organ performance from Brigham Young University. In addition to his responsibilities on Temple Square, Joseph maintains an active organ studio and is a scientific programmer in the optical thin-film industry.

Kathleen (Kay) Card

(Ward Music Chair)
After living in and loving the Pacific Northwest for 33 years, Kay and her husband, Brian, pulled up stakes and moved to Kamas, UT. Where?? Yes—a little known rural community at the base of the Uintah Mountains. Amid tears, goodbyes, and life changes she is learning a whole new way of life. Music has been an integral part of her life since age 7 when her grandmother began teaching her piano and then at age 13 she graduated to the organ. During her teenage years and in college she played the cello. Since then she has directed and sung in small groups, large choirs and taught piano and organ. She served for nine years as the Stake Music Chair and has held every music calling in the church throughout her lifetime. Her love of music has increased in capacity throughout the years, especially since serving on the workshop and concert committee. She hopes to find opportunities to serve in music callings in her new home in Kamas Valley Utah.

Kristi Crusan

(Fundamentals of Singing)
Kristi Crusan studied Vocal Performance and Music Dance Theatre at BYU and traveled with University Singers and Young Ambassadors. She studied with Meyer Friedman at the International School of Voice and presented vocal techniques at the International Symposium of Audiology. She taught private voice lessons at BYU before opening her own vocal studio. Her talents have taken her to Opryland USA in Nashville, Russia and South Korea. She has performed with such artists as Michael McLean, Janice Kapp Perry, Donny Osmond and Michael Ballam. She currently resides in Ridgefield, WA with her husband Ben and the youngest three of her five children.

Angie Cluff Fisher

(Primary Music for 2020)
Angie Cluff Fisher was born and raised in the Portland, OR, and was raised in a musical family, singing and dancing around the house. She graduated from Brigham Young University where she enjoyed music and dance course. She continues to participate in many choirs and solo performances when possible. As a profession, she currently runs a dance studio in Hillsboro with her husband, and thoroughly enjoys teaching clogging as the director of the Junior Cloggers.

Angie is in her 5th year as Primary Music Leader in her ward, and claims it to be the best calling in the church, wishing never to be released. She believes that teaching the gospel through music to young children is the most influential calling one can have, as children will recall the gospel messages in times of need. “Teach the children the song and let the song teach the children,” is a mantra she has learned and applied from her mentor, Sharla Dance. Angie and her husband, Kirk, have three children and reside in Hillsboro, OR.

Brad Goodwin

(Why We Sing)
For nearly a decade, Brad has innovated and introduced inspirational tools and methods as a Primary Music Leader. He has no particular qualifications for the job except a testimony of the gospel, a love of music and love of children. Fun fact: Although he has been a Primary Music Leader for many years, he can recite from memory very few Primary songs. He is a father of 4 and grandfather of 7. In his spare time he is on the administrative council of Portland Choir & Orchestra, producing and directing their concerts since 2010.

Julie Higgins

(Piano Accompanying: How to be a co-artist with your soloist)
Julie Higgins has a BA from BYU. She started piano lessons at age 8 and organ lessons at 18 and studied piano with Richard Anderson at BYU. In recent years she has furthered her music education at Clark College and Portland State University where she studied choral conducting with Ethan Sperry. She has had extensive experience as a ward and stake pianist, organist and accompanist as well as having accompanied many soloists and choirs including the Life of Christ regional choir in Vancouver, WA and the Portland Choir and Orchestra. She served a mission to Quebec and has taught French for Clark College for many years. She has a private piano studio and is currently a ward and stake organist, ward choir director and temple ordinance worker.

Laurey Lee

(Choral Reading)
Laurey Lee has served in various music callings including choir director for over 25 years. She recently returned from a mission with her husband to the Philippines Missionary Training Center where she directed the Philippines MTC Choir and mentored missionaries wishing to learn choir directing skills. She is a mother of six and grandmother of 15 and lives with her husband in Keizer, Oregon. Laurey says she has been inspired by the music workshop for many years and is delighted to share music that is accessible for the average ward choir.

Tessa Olson

(Primary Music for 2020)
Tessa graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in Communications, and worked in marketing for 11 years before transitioning into a stay-at-home-mom career almost two years ago to her three daughters. She has no professional training in leading or performing musically and plays no musical instruments; and yet has still managed to make singing time fun, spiritual, and successful for the last year as music leader. (Thank you, internet and Divine help!)

Deanna Peabody

(Basic Hymn Conducting)
Deanna Peabody is currently serving as Beaverton Stake Music Coordinator and Stake Choir director. She has been a piano teacher in the Beaverton area for 20 years and enjoys singing in the Portland Choir and Orchestra.

Anni Scott

(Music and the Restoration)
Growing up in a musical family, Anni Ladd Scott has loved music since her earliest days. As she grew older, her education included training in violin, piano, and choral and vocal performance. As an adult, a decade of living in the Washington, D.C. area added a new passion to her life: our unique American history. After an epiphany, she realized that in her education, world history, music history and church history, had all been taught in a compartmentalized fashion. Combining her interests into one integrated whole, Anni has found a far richer and more complete understanding. Music and history are an ongoing passion. She has been presenting music and historical workshops and lectures for over two decades. These include a variety of Women’s Conferences, and the Portland Regional Music Workshop, several times. Of course she loves to promote the cause of music in the church as well. She has served as a primary pianist, primary chorister, ward chorister, ward choir director, and ward music chairman, among other teaching and leadership calls. Currently, she is serving as ward choir director. Anni and her husband, Kyle, have lived in Salem, Oregon for twenty three years. They are the parents of four children, a soprano, an alto, a tenor and a bass. In that order, even! They are also grandparents to six grandchildren, who are already adding their voices to the family choir.

David M. Thomas

(Choir Rehearsal Technique, Conducting Master Class)
Dr. David Thomas studied conducting and performance at BYU as well as at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is the Artistic Director of Portland Choir & Orchestra. He and his wife Emily enjoy performing together and operating Studio Thomas: Music Performance Instruction.